NewZipsFan

Can't we assign some student assistant or something to be the "turn the mics back on after the breaks" guy???

After the first two, you think they might have paid attention. However, when a coach has a game plan, he's not just going to abandon it after the first five or six minutes. Adjustments are being made - id bet my dog on that

Anyone have sound on the live stream? NM - it came on.

Believe it or not -- it is just by chance. I believe this deal has been done since last August or so. I also hear that anywhere from a few, to several, of Coach Bowden's former players from UNA will be participating.

Maybe if I had the time to read a thread that I think dates back to 2009 (?) I might know who Bain is - and then maybe I would be excited

Probably playing in the rain on the plain... BTW -- I have no clue what this thread is about.

Sorry it took so long... but since I do not work at Akron, attend Akron, or am in any way officially affiliated with Akron - and I am not psychic, I've got to take what I can get when I can get it Work outs this morning went significantly better than the first one on Monday (which was to be expected). The players performed the drills better, and some guys who kind of "lurked" in the back on Monday, were FRONT and CENTER this morning. They are quickly learning what Coach Bowden expects, and are quickly adjusting their mentality to make sure they are giving Coach what he wants in terms of effort and attitude. I'd say that sounds like a very good start.

Well -- I guess my experience with college football is just a lot different than that of the Akron fans. Because obviously, to me, a diehard fan is the season ticket holder (even if they have to go without electricity for a couple months ... lol), the guy who has his team flags in the yard and front porch all year, the guy whose truck/car is his team's colors (either factory or custom), the guy who is camped out in the tailgating lot the night before the game so that he has enough time to smoke an entire cow, the guy who - dare I say it - is a face painter, the guy who actually GOES to the Spring Game and any open practices - any time, and the guy with the personalized license plate (no matter how funky he has to spell the team name or mascot i.e. Gaytor555 or TheYOU1). That may be over the top -- but there are THOUSANDS of those guys, and we should aspire to have some of that diehard spirit. I'm sure there are Akron fans who fit that description -- but from everything ya'll have been saying -- there aren't many. The bar seems pretty low when it comes to what constitutes an Akron fan. Time to raise it up! Drink some Kool Aid, and believe (even blindly if you must) that this football team is going to be something to be very proud of, exciting to watch, and the newest powerhouse in the nation. Glass is 100% full

Ok -- here is the breakdown of the comments in that thread: Pro-Akron - 5 Anti-Akron - 3 No real opinion - 3 (those were the "I remember getting into the Rubber Bowl with a can of creamed corn" or "I feel sorry for Akron" comments) So -- I stand by my original statement that there were more positive comments than negative.

I guess I'll have to go back and count each comment. I'll get back to you Mr. Meister

Ok - so: "He's usually found on a couch, where he can deftly perform the "YMCA/O-H-I-O" motions horizontally. He has never been to a Zips sporting event, yet can tell you everything that is wrong with Zips athletics.: and "I think of Joe Akron as any Summit County resident (or greater Akron area resident - I live in Stark) who is a sports fan, especially a college sports fan, but who has never been interested in the hometown U." The description of those guys, to me, isn't Joe Akron. He could be called, "Joe FromAkronArea". He doesn't deserve to be called "Joe Akron", IMO. Joe Akron should be the guy that goes to as many games as he can - regardless of record, weather, or an OSU game going on at the same time. He should be the guy who wears Akron gear all year long, and depending upon his financial situation - contributes to some fund within the University (academic or athletic) or volunteers his time with a booster club. If we don't take pride in the Akron name, we can't expect anyone else to. Not slamming you guys - at all -- I'm just trying in my own small, insignificant way, to change the underlying "red-headed step-child" feeling that seems to permeate many in the area.

Ok - so I don't have a dog It was a "metaphor". I actually don't bet -- unless it includes someone cleaning out my refrigerator or some other task I hate to do (ok - never do). So - 'Joe Akron' won't be moved to do anything different at 7-5? Who the hell is Joe Akron, then? Is he the guy who is always at the game regardless (you know - a real fan like all of us) or is he the guy who lives in Akron/went to Akron but is really an OSU fan - and will complain about Akron's football success/progress unless we win a National Championship?

I saw more positive comments than negative in that thread.

I have to disagree with you on this. I know that at least two of our new recruits chose Akron specifically because of the Engineering program. And as much as we don't want to start Freshmen, every position is open on the team right now. If an incoming freshman is the best at his position - he's going to start. At least for now. Obviously, the plan is to build the team and continue to attract better and better players, and then have the luxury of red-shirting freshmen. But I would say for the next couple of years - almost all recruits will be told that they will have the opportunity to compete for a starting position immediately. I just can't see the Patriot league taking any player that Coach Bowden really wants.

Without having to debate the locations or level of talent of the teams in both of those conferences - there is one fact that makes the decision a no-brainer. CURRENTLY, THE WINNER OF THE BIG EAST CONFERENCE IS GUARANTEED TO PARTICIPATE IN A BCS BOWL GAME. That at least gives the players and fans something to tangibly reach for every season -- it is actually POSSIBLE for us to win the whole enchilada. The reason people don't think of the MAC as a "real FBS" conference is because their are so many Bowl games, that the only ones that count for anything (or make the big $$$$) are the BCS Bowls. If you play in the MAC, you are fighting an uphill battle every year for a limited "at-large" bid - or we'll all be at the Meineke Car Care Bowl, or the Beef O'Brady's Bowl, or the Compass Bank Bowl, or "insert other sponsor's name here + Bowl".. Until the system for determining the National Championship is different than it is now - Akron has an infinitesimal chance of winning it all. And that's what everybody wants -- to be the National Champion. We should be a lot more excited about the 2009 Soccer Championship -- that is a freakin' amazing accomplishment.. In basketball, we at least have a fighting chance.. We get a seed, we can prove ourselves by beating everybody else. Can't do that in football. So - without making fun of the MAC, or disparaging it; nor without dissing the Big East - it is obvious that we would be better off (at this moment - the way the rules exist now) in the Big East (or obviously any other BCS Conference). If Boise had been in a BCS Conference during the past few seasons, they would either have been "exposed" for not being as good as they seemed, or they would've beaten LSU or Florida etc. in a Nat'l Championship game and proved that they were an elite team. But they really never got the chance. I don't want to be Boise State. I would much rather be WVU.

Dadgummit -- I totally missed it... Not Big Lots... it would be "Big MAC"....

I actually, literally, laughed out loud when I read that... So great to be able to joke about something rather than get so passionately pissed off all the time I think the basic truths are these: 1. The Big East is a better conference for a college football team than the MAC. In college football, if you were the Big East Champion you would have an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl (at this point in time). If you are the MAC Champion, you have NO guarantee of a BCS Bowl - period.. So that means you basically have 0% (yes, I said 0%) chance of winning a National Championship (under the system that exists today). 2. Akron fans want to win - and they want to win NOW... not in two or three years, on August 30th - Period. 3. To my untrained and uneducated eye - but with my general positive outlook on the situation - I believe that if Coach Bowden can get 4-6 wins (and I mean anywhere between 4-6 is over the top, but I have faith that Coach Bowden can do it), the culture could be changed very quickly. Legacies are built usually with a quick burst of success - that then build on itself over a sustained period of time. It is time, and very feasible that this could be the beginning of a great era in Akron Football. I'd say ya'll are deserving and due. 4. But even 3-4 wins - if the team shows us that they're working hard, having fun, playing with exuberance - most of the fans will respond to that in a positive way, and stay on board for year #2. 5. I would bet my dog that we will have at least a 7-5 record in 2013. 6. If I am right - what would the appropriate reaction from the fans and administration be?

"Straight Dollar General"..... SDG... From now on when something is lame, uncool, unsophisticated, or just plain uninteresting... It will be referred to as SDG. Can't wait for the kids to catch on to the coolest, non-SDG, slang term... Can't State is soooo SDG

All I can say to that is ---- WOW! I surely hope you write for a living - because that was pretty dadgum great. AND -- I think I agree with you 100%. Well done, sir....

Umm... honestly -- who cares who is in the Big East as long as they have an automatic BCS Bowl berth. That fact alone will attract higher rated players, etc. We can win the dadgum conference every year and play in a BCS Bowl game - I'd rather play in the Orange Bowl than the Beef O'Brady's Bowl, or the Meineke Car Care Bowl... just sayin'...

Geeze... all the mystery surrounding who the heck I am... gotta admit... I kind of like it Who are you and Zach?

Because its called empathy. I can empathize with the long suffering, unhappy fans -- that doesn't mean that I would allow that to cloud my very loud, overly exuberant and pie in the sky outlook for the near future of the Zips football team. The only way to get people over to your "side" it to understand them first.

I agree with you. Perception is reality. And the perception is that the Big East has better football teams in it. It may not - but what it does have is an automatic berth into a BCS Bowl Game - and that is HUGE.

I hear you... and if I'm going to be a fan, I will do my best to "feel your pain" of the past. My preference, of course, would be for everyone to be drinking the Kool Aid

I guess then, those long time miserable fans have the right to be pessimistic and keep a "wait and see" attitude before coming back. But quit raining on my parade! If I want the glass half-full, it's dadgum gonna be half-full. If I say we're going to win the MAC this season - well, dadgummit, we will... ok -- that train of thought didn't go exactly where I was meaning it to.. I just don't understand how you can be a fan, but not be a fan. Maybe we should ask the people in New Orleans how they did it... or Tampa Bay.. or Chicago (white sox or cubs or whoever the heck hasn't won a world series since they invented the wheel or something...) It's 30,000 people. That's less than 1/3 the size of The Swamp. Students at UF (30,000 undergrad) have to be in a lottery for football tickets -- only about 9,000 get them. That means that about 80,000+ people purchase tickets and actually TRAVEL to Gainesville (not exactly paradise - or even a great little town for that matter) to see UF beat the crap out of FAU. Yes, they're Gators, and I can't stand them, but THEY ARE FANS.